Student union 'CFOs' learn on the job

$7-Million Budget

By Eric Lam, Financial PostSeptember 25, 2009

The first six months on the job for Toby Whitfield have not been easy. In many ways, he's a normal university student with normal problems, dealing with tuition and going to classes. But at 20, he's already got more responsibility, more pressure and more work than most people twice his age.

As the Ryerson Students Union (RSU) vice-president of finance and services, Mr. Whitfield has been chosen by the 22,000 full-time undergraduate student body to manage a $1.5-million annual operating budget covering everything from student services to campus events. This at an age when most kids can barely balance their own chequebooks.

Unfortunately, his budget has yet to pass. A September RSU board of directors meeting broke down before it could come to a vote. "As you can imagine, everybody wants more each year," he says. For now, the RSU is operating on last year's budget, which means new programs and groups needing additional funding are in a holding pattern.

"We have to be financially responsible or no one wins at the end of the day," he says. "We have $1.5-million, but it goes quickly."

Student union finance executives at Canadian universities have become mini-CFOs, learning on the job while armed with little training and even less experience. They are expected to manage million-dollar budgets while remaining accountable to paying students.

"It's hard when you come into a job and you don't know things. You look at what goes before. What happened last year [influences] what's reasonable this year," he says. Mr. Whitfield started "work" in May, spending the summer learning the ropes. He also received training on the RSU's accounting software and attended seminars run by the Canadian Federation of Students, a national coalition of student unions.

He credits the full-time staff that work at the RSU offices with helping him stay on track, but he says the final policy decisions rest with him and the rest of the RSU executive.

Mr. Whitfield's operating budget pales in comparison to the $7-million behemoth Ian Finlay, 20, has to manage. The third-year McMaster University political science major has taken a year off to serve as VP of finance with the McMaster Student Union in Hamilton, Ont. His responsibilities include running the campus pubs, student services and health and dental plans.

"It's a good opportunity for students," he says. The job will also look impressive on Bay Street. Mr. Finlay plans to get his MBA and become a financial analyst.

Mr. Whitfield sees himself working at a non-profit organization.

Both often end up working far more than the allotted 40 hours a week. Mr. Finlay, who will earn $34,000 this year, figures he puts in about 75 hours a week. Mr. Whitfield works about 60 hours and will take home $26,000.